Sacramento, California -- A leading family issues organization is appalled that Governor Jerry Brown doesn't care about informed consent for patients or parental consent for dads and moms. Following is a statement from Randy Thomasson, president of SaveCalifornia.com , which promotes moral virtues for the common good, and which has been lobbying the Governor to veto this bad bill:

"By signing AB 499 to coerce minors into risky Gardasil shots, Jerry Brown is deceptively telling preteen girls it will protect them from HPV, giving them a false sense of security that they can have all the sexual activity they want without risking developing cervical cancer or a raft of other negative consequences. And Brown is telling parents he doesn't want them to be in charge of their own children. He obviously doesn't care about informed consent for patients or parental consent for dads and moms. This is yet another reason for loving parents to rescue their precious children from government schools, which will be the #1 place targeting girls for these coerced injections. Under this new law, even preteen and teen boys will be targeted for HPV shots behind their parents' backs.

"Brown has no excuse to deny patients essential information and trample parents' consent for their children, who lack the brain development to make big decisions like this. It is unfair and wrong for AB 499 to coerce children behind their parents' backs, when calling or emailing a child's mother or father to set an appointment is the respectful way to communicate vital information and answer important questions. Yet this bill infringes on people's God-given rights.

"These injections don't cover all the HPV strains that can contribute to cervical cancer. But girls will be told they're 'expected' to have sex, and not be warned that, even with the Gardasil shots, premarital sexual activity can still result in HPV and other sexually transmitted infections, as well as pregnancy, abortion, and emotional heartbreak. AB 499 further endangers minors who are foolish enough to be sexually active, when abstinence-only education would work effectively to protect them. This is bad public policy. Annual Pap tests, starting at age 21, actually protect women from the risk of cervical cancer much more than a series of Gardasil shots, which has only a temporary effect.

"How in the world can a 12- or 13-year-old girl provide informed consent when she's not told the risks and limitations of the drug, and she lacks the brain development and necessary wisdom to make this serious decision? She can't even drive a car or vote or get married, but she can consent to this? Jerry Brown has declared war on California parents. This is a sad day for mothers and fathers, for children, for true health, for informed consent, and for all who hunger for good government."

SaveCalifornia.com is a leading West Coast nonprofit, nonpartisan organization standing strong for moral virtues for the common good. We represent children and families in the areas of marriage and family, parental rights, the sanctity of human life, religious freedom, financial freedom, and back-to-basics education.